


Never Alone

by crna_macka



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-29 00:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3875917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crna_macka/pseuds/crna_macka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abby can walk and Raven can lead her back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Girlblunder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlblunder/gifts).



It's spring and they're on their way back from a bunker long emptied of useful materials when it happens. Abby leans against a tree to rest while Raven adjusts her brace. "Okay," Raven says, and Abby steps away from the trunk to help her back to her feet - and her jacket snags on the rough bark. She turns, it pulls, and she doesn't _see_ what's happened, but she can she can feel the debris on her eyes and face.

Abby mutters a curse under her breath as she fumbles blindly at her pack for the water she brought along. Her face feels fine, just itchy, but her eyes are burning and the cool analytical voice in her head says she probably tore a layer of bark off the tree and released spores or chemicals, something protective or allergenic, possibly even something with nasty side effects. There's been plenty of that to go around here on Earth.

"Hey, what happened? Abby, stop, let me help."

Raven is right there and Abby can feel a cloth wiping at her face, and the cool analytical voice inside pushes her to say, "I need to wash it off. Mark the tree. We need someone from Agro to come back and look at it."

"Okay, alright," Raven placates. Abby can hear the woman opening her own bottle and pouring, and she resists opening her eyes or licking her lips.

"Just get it the best you can," she says. She lifts her chin when Raven touches her jaw and tries to stay still for a few more moments. "That's good," she indicates when the cool analytical voice is satisfied, and she clutches at Raven's jacket to get her bearings. "Give me the water, I need to flush my eyes."

She takes a few careful steps away from the tree before dumping some of the water into her eyes, tossing her jacket a short distance away, then tilting her head to apply some more. She can hear Raven approaching, but when she looks, all she sees is a muddy blur of light and dark, a vague blotch that might be red.

She remembers the hallucinogens the kids found by accident last fall. Her voice quavers with worry. "Raven?"

"Right here," Raven says.

"I can't see."

* * *

They radio back to camp, checking with Jackson and Monty at Raven's suggestion. Together they conclude that the partial blindness might be, should be, most likely, temporary. There don't seem to be other side effects. "I'll keep an eye on her," Raven assures them. She huffs when Monty is the only one that laughs.

They agree not to tell Kane; there's no point in worrying him. Abby can walk and Raven can lead her back. Although Abby reassures Jackson before they sign off, worry sets in when the connection is cut.

"Isn't this fun?" Raven says, not treading softly as she backtracks to Abby's pack. "The lame leading the blind."

Abby is rooted to the spot. "Be careful. Especially with the jacket."

"Should I leave it?" Raven's voice moves no farther, and Abby relies on the cool analytical voice for a solution.

"Can you bundle it safely? If there's anything left on it, we can study it back at camp."

"Right," Raven confirms, and the seconds pass as she gathers Abby's things. "Your pack looks okay. Can you carry it?"

"Yeah."

She isn't used to feeling helpless, but that's what sinks in as Raven assists her with the pack.

"Hey," Raven says, lingering at Abby's side. "I know that look, Abby. Everything's going to be fine."

Abby takes a deep breath, reaches blindly for Raven's hand, and exhales. She knows her grip is too tight, but Raven's fingers squeeze back.

"It's like a major trust exercise," Raven jokes. "And you _do_ trust me, right?"

Abby lets herself be led one step, then two. She squeezes her eyes shut against the unnatural blur and forces a smile. "Of course."

The teasing continues. "When have I ever let you down?"

She lets herself be drawn into the comforting banter. "Well..."

"Hey, I _never_ ," Raven admonishes, her tone still playful. "Just because you haven't approved of everything, doesn't mean I wasn't helping."

* * *

The younger woman is a good guide. Already needing to keep one eye on the terrain because of her leg, she relays the information to Abby and adjusts for the smoothest course. The death grip has eased but Abby doesn't let go, and Raven doesn't mention it. When the trail narrows and she decides they will walk single file, she switches hands, not letting go until the connection is made. Abby murmurs a thanks and Raven continues with her levity.

"It's too bad you can't see the way the light is coming through the trees right now," she says. "We're almost out of the woods and I can already tell it's a beautiful sunset."

"Oh yeah?" Abby knows she's been relatively quiet, but she feels better when Raven is talking, guiding with her voice. The mechanic is nothing if not confident.

"I mean, what a waste of a completely romantic vista, you know? Guys just don't appreciate this kind of thing, and here I am, leading along a woman who _can't_."

Abby tilts her head, looking in the direction of the light and red blur. " _Your_ guys, maybe."

Raven scoffs and mutters something about not wanting romance anyway.

"Really," Abby challenges. "You talk a big game, but I've seen what you do for your friends. You'd be such a romantic with the right person."

Raven's grumbling starts to sound forced, so Abby continues. "Jackson would probably like this."

There is a choking cough and then Raven's laughter is back. "Jackson? That's precious, Abby."

"Oh no, not for me," Abby clarifies. She briefly tightens her fingers against Raven's. "I just mean..."

"Damn, don't tell me the rumors are true."

Abby can't stop her eyebrows from shooting up. "What?"

"You and Marcus Kane."

They pull to a stop when Abby's head tips back with laughter. They're in the open air now, and the surprised mirth carries to the sky. Raven is patient but playful when she bumps her shoulder against Abby's to get moving again. "Well, that's not a 'no.'"

"No," Abby says, using her free hand to wipe at her eyes. It's probably a good sign that they're watering. "No, there's... too much history there. No."

Raven hums with interest but doesn't pry further.

"You and Wick?" Abby counters.

In a beat, she knows she's touched a nerve. "No," Raven says simply.

* * *

When twilight sets in, there are only dark blurs in varying shades, and Abby remembers - as if she could have forgotten - the state she's in. Or the seriousness of it.

"How close are we to camp?" she asks.

"We haven't exactly been setting any long-distance records," Raven says dryly.

"Will we make it back before both of us can't see?" Abby presses, and Raven sighs.

"I have a flashlight."

Abby decides the point isn't worth arguing. She shivers against the evening chill and really, she just wants to be back at camp already.

"I'm hungry," Raven finally grumbles, unknowingly echoing Abby's sentiments.

"How's your leg?"

"Holding up."

Abby falls silent until Raven nudges against her side. "Come on, that works both ways. Holding us up but still standing."

"That's no way to answer a medical question," Abby protests.

"You can't see, but I'm rolling my eyes," Raven informs her. "Because you should know by now that that's exactly how I answer silly medical questions."

"You're incorrigible."

Abby might be blind, but she knows exactly what a smug smile sounds like with Raven. "That's one of the many great things about me."

"Oh, I know," Abby drawls. She means for the agreement to echo the dry humor, but Raven's laugh takes it somewhere else.

"Abby, what was _that_? Did you just drop a line on me?"

"A what? No!" Abby splutters and missteps, letting go of Raven's hand only to feel it steadying above her elbow.

"Careful there, doc. It's okay. I know flirting when I hear it."

"Let me guess, you invented flirting," Abby jibes, flustered but unable to pull away or find her way out of this line of conversation.

"You got it," Raven says, then lowers her voice to a teasingly conspiratorial tone. "And you didn't deny it."

"Ugh, you're -" She stops from repeating herself, which just allows Raven to chime in with helpful suggestions.

"Irresistible? Insightful? An inspiration? Beyond compare?"

"Full of yourself," Abby says under her breath. She can still hear the laughter that Raven holds back. At least in the dark, the heat in her cheeks shouldn't be quite as evident.

"I like you, Abby," Raven says with mock officiousness. "So I'm going to let you off easy this time."

"Very gracious."

"I know."

* * *

They continue in comfortable silence until Raven pulls up short to take the flashlight from her own pack, never leaving Abby's side. Even if Abby couldn't hear her companion, she can feel the difference between body heat and the night air. Her fingers stir the air gently of their own accord, tentative and stopping when they touch Raven's hair. She can feel the younger woman look up and rise from her crouch.

"Just wanted to make sure you were still there," Abby excuses herself, feeling strangely like she's been caught doing something she needs to cover for.

"I'm not going to leave you," Raven reassures her quietly. The flashlight clicks on and Abby can vaguely see it. Raven fits her palm against Abby's.

"You keep saying that," Abby muses as their trek resumes.

"Apparently you need to hear it."

Abby finds she can't argue with that; her mouth goes dry and her chest tightens at the thought. _Breathe_ , the cool analytical voice says, coming back to her. Her head buzzes at the constriction of vessels, the redirection of oxygen. Her sinuses sting in warning.

"Oh."

She can hear Raven's muted, controlled exhale. She can probably see what's happened on Abby's face. Or she can feel it in their close proximity. The cool analytical voice tells Abby to wait and see what happens.

But nothing does. Not for what feels like hours.

"I can see the camp," Raven announces.

"Thank god," Abby says with real relief, but she feels the tiniest bit guilty about it. She knows that when they are seen by a patrol, when they are given an escort through the gate to Jackson in medical, whatever bubble surrounds them will burst. She's relieved, but she isn't ready.

So she stops.

Raven stops. She doesn't understand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Abby says. She takes a breath and lets go of Raven's hand. "Where are you?"

She can hear Raven shuffle in the dark, the flashlight's beam shifting as Raven asks, "Are you okay?" Raven's hands grip both of her arms, and the cool, analytical voice is there but has nothing to say.

Abby is distracted by her own lungs trying to draw a breath, her empty hands shaking until they find Raven's jacket.

"Abby?"

"Sorry," Abby says, but it comes out a whisper. She flicks her tongue over her lips, again feeling impossibly dry. "I just..."

She starts to shake her head, blinking but not seeing, when she feels fingertips on her jaw, stilling the motion. She feels a brush of skin against her lips and a breath against her face.

"It's okay," Raven says, and her voice is impossibly close. "It was a crazy day."

Abby would nod but Raven's touch is still here, so she unwittingly licks her lips and agrees out loud.

"Everything's going to be fine," Raven continues. Her voice is low and soothing.

"Thank you," Abby says, not saying enough. In a flash of instinct - or panic? - she can sense that Raven is going to pull away. She leans in slightly, before the other woman can end this moment, before she loses her bearings again, and kisses Raven. Properly this time, with breaths and long seconds and Raven's gentle nip at her lower lip before they part. Abby feels ridiculously lucky not to have to see the expression on her face. The cool, analytical voice is disappointed in being denied that.

"Ready now?" Raven asks, and her tone hasn't changed. If anything, it's warm, surprised. "Kane's bound to send out search parties soon, if he hasn't already."

"What if this is permanent?" Abby says. She can't let the fear out in much more than a whisper.

Raven takes her hand one more time and twines their fingers together. A surgeon's hands and a mechanic's; one for fixing and one for assembling.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to," Raven admits. That smile is back, somewhat gentler than a smirk but still entirely smug. "But I'm sure we'll figure something out."

**Author's Note:**

> 100% inspired by the fact that I'm essentially blind without my glasses and someone rearranged the soaps and shampoos in the shower without telling me, so... I mean, this isn't _Daredevil._


End file.
